Burning down the house
by Lady of the lads
Summary: Ginny buys a small dump of an apartment. It has a lot of… erm… potential, but needs a little touching up. Harry is going to help her. Will they manage to fix the flat or will they go crazy first? How unlucky can a pair of people be? Funny and romantic!
1. Intro

_**Burning down the house**_

_**By Lady of the Lads**_

**Summary: Ginny buys a small dump of an apartment because of a stupid challenge of sorts. It has a lot of… erm… potential, but needs a little touching up. Harry is going to help her. Will they manage to fix the flat or will they go crazy first? How unlucky can a pair of people be? Funny n' romantic. ;)**

**Rating: Rated T for minor language.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing… sighs dramatically why me god, why me?!**

**Chapter One – Intro**

"Hermione?" Ginny asked cautiously from one end of the wooden kitchen table.

"Mmm?" Hermione answered half-heartedly, not looking up from the magazine she was reading.

"Could you go house-hunting with me tomorrow? The real-estate guy told me about this cute little place in downtown London. He said he'd show it to me tomorrow? Want to come along? I'll buy you a cup of coffee on the way. Please?"

Hermione sighed and put down the magazine.

"I have work tomorrow." She said dryly, referring to her Ministry job at Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. "Don't you?"

Ginny snorted. "I'll take a day off. You could too. I helped you and Ron out when you were getting this place _and_ I consider myself a _great help_ in your wedding planning; for truth to be told it's the least you can do." Ginny said accusingly and pointed at their surroundings, Hermione and Ron's small but cosy apartment.

Hermione avoided the eyes of her redheaded friend by looking out the kitchen window, but nonetheless felt the demanding brown stare bore into her head.

"Fine." Hermione finally muttered, "But you'd better like this _'cute little place'_. I am a busy person and I don't have endless time to go with you to look at some houses that you're not even interested in. I've stopped counting the numbers of times I've gone to take looks at houses with you. And you said you weren't _interested_. Over and over again."

"Oh, I'm interested in this one. I saw some pictures of the outside and it looks very nice. Like '_buy it'_ nice."

"Well, although I find it hard to believe that you can set your mind on it, sure I'll do it. When are we going?"

"I can buy a house, and I want to buy a house. I just haven't found the right one yet. Anyway, we're supposed to be there at three o' clock. Just apparate to Diagon Alley, I'll meet you in front of Gringott's at thirty to three. Then we have time to grab a coffee."

"Allright." Hermione replied and put her empty teacup in the kitchen sink, "I'll see you then."

"See you!" Ginny waved happily before apparating to the Burrow, where she was currently living along with her mother and father.

Meanwhile, at her house Hermione put the magazine in the newspaper stand, and walked into the bedroom where her fiancé Ron was taking a nap.

"Ron, honey," Hermione nudged the sleeping figure "remember what dad said? You have to brush your teeth before you go to sleep. And remember the fluoride mouthwash."

He rolled to face her.

"Noo… I can't…"

"Yeah, you can."

"No I really can't. My legs are numb," He added for dramatic effect, "I am falling asleep again, I can't control it! Oh no!"

Ron was a really bad actor and Hermione gave him a look.

"Oh, allright. I'll go brush. Is Ginny still here?"

"No she went home. I'm going with her to look at an apartment tomorrow."

Ron sighed. "I really hope she'll like this one. Three bloody months of searching; I can't believe it can possibly take this long. For truth to be told, I think she just doesn't want to move out of the Burrow."

Hermione grinned at Ron. "Well it's a good thing that _you _moved out of there and bought this flat with me. I'm not sure if we would have enough privacy to do _this_," She moved closer to him "at the Burrow." She softly put her lips on his, and right then, Ron totally forgot everything about his dentist and fluoride.

…

"So this guy just comes up to me and he's like 'Whoa whoa whoa, don't think that you're something just because you helped defeat Voldemort.' And I'm like 'Lad, you know nothing about that bloody scenario, and you wouldn't want to.' And he's like 'Weasley, would you go out with me?' And I was like '_No_, _you imbecile_!' Can you believe that Hermione, can you?" Ginny finished her story dramatically and waited for a response from her brunette friend, who was currently half asleep onto the coffeehouse table. When no response came, Ginny raised her voice.

"_Can you?!_"

Hermione shot up and shook her head. "No I can't. It's…um...dreadful."

"Well yeah it is!" Ginny confirmed into her teacup. "So, how is the wedding planning going? I bet Ron is a _great help_."

Hermione grinned a little. "Well, I'd be lying if I said he was. But I have been enjoying getting to decide everything. Just today I settled for orchids as flower ornaments, and I think I'll order the Howling Hexes to play in the reception."

"Sounds good. I wish _I_ had a wedding to plan. You know, in mum's opinion I'm getting past wedding age."

"Well, with all due respect, your mum doesn't know everything." Hermione smiled kindly to Ginny, "You'll find someone."

"Yeah, I guess I will. And now that I'll have my own place, I can actually invite guys to dinner or something, without the old duo lurking over us I mean."

"Well, good luck with that." Hermione took a quick look at her wristwatch. "Shouldn't we get going? It's only two minutes to three."

Ginny nodded and the two apparated to inner London. They found themselves standing in front of a well taken care of block of flats.

"It looks even better than in the pictures. C'mon, I can't wait to see the inside." Ginny pulled Hermione with her towards a man who was standing outside the house.

"Hello Miss Weasley."

"Oh Mr. Daniels. Can we see the apartment now?" Ginny replied friendly "This is my friend Hermione Granger, she's here to accompany me.

"Very well!" The man exclaimed happily and gestured for them to go inside the building, and inside an elevator.

When they got out of the elevator in the seventh floor, the man ushered them towards a wooden door, and when he opened it, Hermione gasped.

…

"Well, that's… rustic…" Hermione finished awkwardly as she tore her gaze away from the ugly pink wallpaper which had begun to mould, and to the old parquet on the floors.

Ginny, who stood beside her, seemed to have a different feeling about the whole thing though.

"_I love it!_" She screeched, "Look how much character it has got. Imagine what I could do with this place, I could make it Ginny style, totally like I want it to be!"

"Um… Gin. Maybe we should take a look around before we start making statements, allright?" Hermione said stiffly and started walking towards the shabby bedroom, dragging the redhead with her. "Look at that!" She hissed in Ginny's ear when they were alone. "This place is falling apart; you don't want anything to do with it. Let's say a polite 'no thanks' to the nice real estate agent lad and then get out of here, allright?"

Hermione waited for an answer from Ginny, hoping desperately, praying, that her friend hadn't fallen into the stubborn, persistent mode which was easy to get into, but very, very hard to get out of again.

"I am going to buy this apartment!" Ginny said slowly, raising her eyebrows at Hermione, daring her to take an action.

Hermione mentally screamed. Damn it, how childish Ginny could be sometimes!

"Fine then!" The brunette spoke harshly. "Fine. But I am sure that in no time you'll come crying to me and Ron for help. Yes, I'm absolutely sure."

Hermione turned on her heel and stormed out of the apartment, apparating back home.

…

As Ginny was standing alone in the room the smelly bedroom, a few minutes later, she realised what a _huge_ mistake she had done. The stench of the old, damp walls reached her senses, the parquet seemed a hundred years old, and the paint on the windowsills was so flaky, there was more naked panel than painted spots.

She took a walk around, just to make sure that the rest of the house was just as bad as the bedroom and the living room.

They were, in fact worse. The kitchen cabinets were in need of new doors, and even though magic would probably work wonders on the kitchen appliances, it was a close call.

The bathroom was the worst though. It would be hell to clean, and she would have to buy a new sink, the old one had deep cracks in it and was capable of falling apart any minute now.

The youngest Weasley was about to scream out when there was a poke on her shoulder.

"Are you going to take it, Miss?"

Ginny turned around to look in the moss-green eyes of the super-annoyingly-happy real estate agent.

This apartment was a royal dump, that was certain, but… would Ginny Weasley, the queen of stubbornness, be intrigued by the challenge of turning this piece of junk into a house fit for a king? Would she?

_Would she?_

The hell she wouldn't!

"I love it Mr. Daniels." Ginny smiled, proud of herself. "You have my number, contact me when you're ready with a contract to sign."

…

And when Ginny was back to the Burrow, sitting in her old room, she didn't know if she was to cry or laugh. She really didn't.

**Chapter Two – Chances Taken**


	2. The Ultimate Comrade

**Long time no see, but this is something I felt like finishing.****  
**

**Chapter 2 - The Ultimate Comrade**

As Ginny awoke on the first day of the extra four days she had taken off at work before the Christmas holidays, she felt a mix of excitement and anxiety. She had such a large task ahead of her, and with Hermione so fiercely against the whole arrangement, she was positive that Ron wouldn't dare contradict his fiancée by helping out.

Her mother had recently broken her right leg in a very comical, yet dramatic manner, whilst de-gnoming the garden, so she was of no use, plus, she would probably try to dominate everything if Ginny were to let her assist. Her father was a very highly regarded ministry official now, and had no time to spare, and if he should, by coincidence have a day off, she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she stole it from him. So she would be doing this solo.

Although she did have a rather large amount of money in her Gringott's vault, a three years worth of savings, it would not suffice to pay a professional for anything she couldn't do herself. She climbed out of bed and got dressed in flower patterned dress. Then she headed downstairs, wondering, as she entered the kitchen, how many more times she would enter this kitchen, early in the morning, to get herself breakfast.

She suddenly felt panic wash over her, making her stomach clench uncomfortably. Was she getting this old? Were her parents getting this old? She would have to stand on her own two feet, make her own meals, settle accounts, learn household spells... The list was endless and this wasn't going to be easy.

Her mother entered the kitchen, steadying herself on a walking staff, feathers covering her red apron.

"Good morning dear."

"Morning." Ginny mumbled, tearing herself from a vision in her head of herself, doing disgusting plumbing work in to the old yellowing loo in her new flatlet.

"Why the long face dear?" Her mum asked concernedly. "You're not moping over Harry again are you?" Molly's eyes darted from Ginny's pout to her melancholic stare out the kitchen window.

Ginny frowned. "No mum. No, _no_." She smiled awkwardly.

Her mother had been referring to an incident approximately two months before, when Molly had invited everyone over for dinner, and Hermione had found Ginny, who had had a tad too much elf-made wine, crying in her bedroom, because Harry had brought a date, a girl named Juliet, who worked in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She had been very witty and beautiful, and by being so, made Ginny feel quite unsightly and silly.

Ginny had made Hermione pledge to tell no-one about this. But Hermione had told Ron, and Ron told Molly, and Molly told Arthur, and soon enough, everyone knew, with the sole exception of Harry, and Ginny hoped desperately that it would stay that way.

"Well, you're probably just hungry then." Molly reasoned, and flicked her wand, so a pan arranged itself on the at-once flaming stove, along with an egg, which cracked and de-shelled itself in half in mid-air, two sausages and a slice of bread.

Ginny ate her breakfast in pondering silence and gave her mum a peck on the cheek before she apparated off, to London downtown, two blocks away from where she was heading, which was her new home. S

he felt in need of the air, or maybe, although she dismissed the thought immediately, she was delaying the moment that she would have to face the terrible truth.The air was filled with the aroma of pollution, pastries and spicy food, it was snowing lightly, and the first Christmas decorations were popping out in the small shop windows. It made Ginny feel better, quite modern and almost hip, to be the owner of an estate in such a popular quarter.

Her mood was improving so rapidly, that evidently, fate felt that it had to step in.

Which it did, and sent Ginny's sunny mood straight down the gutter, in the human form of none other than Harry. At the sight of her he stopped immediately, and a single-hearted smile spread over his dashing features.

"Ginny! Hey, it's great to see you," He pulled her into a hug. "It's been ages!"

"Yes... well... I've been... you know... not, but yeah... out and about." She mentally slapped herself. What a preposterous, _stupid_ sentence that was. She felt like she had back in first year, so shy and stupid, stuttering all over the place. Like she had felt at that cursed dinner party.

Harry was silent for a while, probably wondering what the ruddy hell she had just said, before he spoke again.

"I heard you just found a place. That's fantastic Gin. Where is it?"

She pointed feebly in the general direction of her street, unable to speak.

"Far down there?" He asked, still as friendly and annoyingly wonderful.

"Oh no. Not far. Just a bit... one block down."

"Cool. That's a really great neighborhood. All those bars and shops. It's very lively isn't it?"

"Yes." She searched her mind desperately for something to say. "Where do you live now?"

"I live in the student accommodation down in Diagon, it's run by the auror academy. Quite shabby but I do okay."

"Ah. Well, where are you off to?"

"I'm just on my lunch break at school. We're doing Stealth, which is _very_ draining, and I'm _starving_. Ron skipped today, apparently he's _too _busy wedding-planning with Hermione to be there." Ginny smiled. She could imagine that Ron was not with Hermione on wedding missions out of free will.

"Hey," Harry said "do you want to go get some lunch?"

Her heart skipped a beat. _Was that a date offer? No, no, don't go getting ideas you silly blushing little girl..._

"Oh I just ate." Ginny blurted out. "I was just going to my flat. I've got loads to work on down there." She _had_ to get away from him in order not to make an even bigger arse out of herself.

Harry's smile faltered for a second. "Oh, damn. I've would've really liked to catch up, I really have no clue what you are up to these days."

"Oh, the same old." She answered nonchalantly. "I'm just a temp at a small firm of curse-breakers, Bill set it up for me. It's very nice actually, I am getting lots of Charms skills out of it."

"Great." Harry answered. "So, how about I just go with you and have a look-see at your new flat then?"

"You're hungry." She exclaimed rudely, only realizing too late how it had sounded. She just _really_ did not want him to see her flat... yet.

"Well, but I'm even more excited to see your new place, than I am to see a bacon sandwich. And that says a _lot_."

Ginny was about to wave him off, but he had already walked ahead, towards her dirty little rathole, which she so desperately did not want him to see, grabbing her arm, making her walk alongside him.

"So. Do you have a boyfriend now?" He asked, and maybe she was fooling herself, but she thought she heard a little strangle in his voice.

"Oh, no. Loads too busy for that, with work and all that." It was a rather pathetic answer, it probably sounded as if she was making justifications.

"Oh allright." Was that relief?

"Do you? She asked back hoping he would say-

"Yes." _No..._ "Well, sort of. You know Julie, don't you? She stays over every now and then and I've met her parents a few times so... I guess she could be called my _girlfriend_.

"Well. Good for you." She smiled, and hoped, with all her heart, that it seemed real. "

Well, I had a near-relationship about a month ago." That was not really a lie. It may not have been an emotional one, but it practically was a relationship. The bed-buddies, no-breakfast type.

"Okay." He answered, clearing his throat. "Where is your place then, are we close?"

"Yeah." She pointed at her block of flats, "It's just there, over the flower shop."

"Nice." He exclaimed in honest awe. "This looks great."

"Oh yes." She started walking again, away from the house, hoping it would suffice to just show him the facade.

"Ginny? Can I see the inside too?"

She sighed, her shoulders slumped as she turned around slowly.

"It's not at all that exciting."

"Ginny, I want to very much." His face had a look of suspicion upon it. Maybe he thought it wasn't really hers, that she was just mental...

"Oh, okay. If you insist, but I must say, it has some work to be done, you know. It's rather, un-..." She searched for the right suffix. "Unpolished."

"Oh, that's okay, believe me, I've probably seen it a lot worse. Bear in mind that I lived in a cupboard until the age of eleven."

She smiled weakly. She doubted that any cupboard in England could look worse than this one. They took the tidy, red-carpeted elevator upstairs, to the lovely oak door with the messing nameplate which still said Humphrey Tottingham.

"Now, that's not right." Harry exclaimed and drew his wand. Ginny watched in awe as Humphrey Tottingham's name vanished, and her own name appeared, engraved in graceful, large letters, along with a small flower, which looked to Ginny, like a lily.

"Oh, Harry, that's so wicked. My _very own_ nameplate." She smiled up at him, this time a real, toothy one.

"You're welcome, Gin. Now shall we take a look?" Her joy went away as quickly as it had come, as he reached for the doorknob.

"Be my guest." She said unconvincingly, and winced as he opened the door.

He was silent as he he took in the flaking paint, the parquet, bumpy from excessive water damage and the kitchen appliances, buried under a thick layer of dust and grease. And then there was the stench.

"Merlin, Ginny, this place is just..." He stroked his hair out of his face, a habit, she knew from their Hogwarts days, he had when he was nervous. "it's just awfully..." he was obviously afraid to hurt her, yet wanted to tell the truth.

"Disgusting?" She finished, with a small smile playing on her lips. She liked to be the confident one.

"Well... would you be mad if I said yes?" He smiled back at her. "Because it really is. I mean, this Humphrey guy must have been a real pig."

"No. He was just dead for weeks in here before they found him. It explains the smell." Ginny said this with an solemn expression on her face. Harry paled. Ginny chuckled.

"Just joking Harry, honestly, he was quite alive when he sold this place and moved to Ibiza."

They both laughed, then silenced and looked around once more.

"You want any help getting this place into shape?" Harry asked.

_Yes, oh yes please_, she thought.

"Oh, no, that's no need. I got some time off at work and I think I can deal with this. It's just dirt." She didn't want him to want to try and help herout of pure pity, which he _surely_ was.

"How long did you get off, a year?" He asked sarcastically. "Seriously Gin, I know you can be very stubborn and persistent, but there is not a chance you can do this alone. I'm really good at this sort of things, I always did all the upkeep, plumbing and painting and things like that at Vernon and Petunia's." He came closer and looked her in the eyes. "Maybe I just _want_ to help you." She gulped.

"Well... I'll just talk to you if I need something done-"

"You need something done." He shot in.

"Yes. When I need you, I'll talk to you. Okay?"

"I have Christmas Holidays in four days' time. I'll have way too much time on my hands anyway." He seemed frank and it reassured her. "Our first step is, of course," he stated knowingly, "to make a to-do list." He drew a piece of parchment and a small quill out of his pocket.

"_Number one,_" He said, scribbling, "_Fix old pipelines._ Right Gin?"

"Yes." She agreed dully, feeling rather undermined and left behind. She decided to get involved.

"Number two:" She said "Break down this wall between the living room and the kitchen."

_"Number two, Break down wall._" Harry agreed, writing furiously.

"Then there's painting, flooring and putting up wallpaper, _Number three, beautify."_

"And number four, finish up with furniture." Ginny said.

"_Number four, finish up_." Harry repeated, putting his quill back in his pocket, handing the small piece of parchment to Ginny.

Somehow she felt it was valuable and looked at it for a while, then stuffed it deep into her yellow raincoat pocket.

She looked up and noticed he was eyeing her. He quickly tore his gaze from her and walked into the only bedroom.

"This apartment is certainly _unpolished_, just like you said." He told her, "but I think we could make it... brilliant. See those balustrades, and look at the ceiling, it's fresco shaped. This shouldn't even take that long for us if we get to work soon." She wasn't sure whether she disliked or loved the fact that he was using a lot of plural, talking about _them_.

"And see, the living room," He dashed out of the bedroom, "it's round. It's brilliant! Like Dumbledore's office! Had you thought about colours?"

"I don't know." She confessed. "I hadn't thought that far. I was too busy seeing all this junk and dirt in here to notice the _balustrades._" She regretted using that spiky tone immediately. Harry was only being nice. Luckily, he seemed oblivious of the insult.

"You see Gin, what matters is the _whole picture, the future._ You've got to look past the grease and dust, that's not going to be here in the end."

She smiled. "Thanks Harry, really, you've been great. I'm guessing that you heard that I'd found a place from either Ron or Hermione, if so you presumably know that I can't trust in them to help me. Hermione is the only witch in the universe more stubborn than I am, and Ron is dead scared of her. He won't move a pinky to help me, if it's against her appointment."

"You can count on me all the way."

They shared a moment of silence and comprehension.

"Hey, Harry?"

"Yes Gin?"

"When were you supposed to be back from lunch?"

Harry stiffened up. "Shit."

**  
I promise more humor in later chappies, when they start being all handy-man-like. So push the Go button and hit me with a flame, praise or something in between, I take anything.**


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